Dartmouth College confirmed to HuffPost on Wednesday that it is the subject of a second federal review relating to sexual assaults and other crimes on campus.
As first reported last week in the Dartmouth student paper, the U.S. Department of Education opened a complaint initially filed in May 2013 by a group of students and recent alumni alleging that Dartmouth violated the campus safety law, the Clery Act. The college said in a statement that federal officials plan to begin a review at the Hanover, New Hampshire campus on Aug. 18.
A total of 38 students and alumni alleged 14 violations of the Clery Act related to sexual assault, and 11 incidents of LGBT discrimination and hate crimes. The complaint includes allegations of hazing and other misbehavior in the Greek system initially reported by fraternity member Andrew Lohse and detailed in Rolling Stone magazine.
The Clery review comes on the heels of an ongoing Title IX investigation, launched proactively the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights last year.
"Dartmouth is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our community," Tommy Bruce, senior vice president for public affairs, said in a statement. "We will assist the federal authorities in this important work and maintain transparency in these proceedings. We are optimistic that the review team will find that our strengthened policies are aligned with Clery Act best practices."
The Education Department, however, is not discussing its investigation. Unlike Title IX reviews, which the department recently started disclosing, its Clery investigations are not publicized. The department has said it would only acknowledge that a Clery investigation is underway if the school does so first, but a spokesperson for the department repeatedly declined to do so in Dartmouth's case when asked by The Huffington Post on Wednesday.
"Anytime the department receives complaints regarding violations of the Clery Act at a participating school, we look into it," Education Department spokeswoman Denise Horn told HuffPost. "However, we cannot acknowledge or comment on any program reviews -- planned or ongoing -- as not to compromise the integrity of our process."
UPDATE: After publication, the Education Department did confirm that it will probe Dartmouth College's compliance with the Clery Act.